View a FREE sample

Lesson 1 (from Act 1, Part 1)

Objective

Students will learn a rough guide to the history of western theater. (Only venture into Ancient Egypt and Greece if you feel this is appropriate for your class.) They will appreciate how the staging of Amadeus fits in with this history.

Lesson

1) Teacher mini-lecture.

-- Provide illustrations--from Medieval mystery plays to Shakespeare's Globe (thrust stage) to 18th-20th century Realism to German Expressionism to the present.

-- Ask students to relate and compare their own theater-going. If there are few contributions, relate your own experiences. It would be good to include experiences both within America and overseas.

2) Have students make drawings to represent the staging of plays from Medieval times to the present. Drawings should be neatly and clearly labeled and accompanied by a paragraph of explanatory text.

3) Class discussion: Realism versus Expressionism (and the like).

-- Morph from discussion to mini debate. Divide the room...

(read more Daily Lessons)

This section contains 8,133 words (approx. 28 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample